Multimodal Discourse Analysis of English-Language Instagram Posts: Caption, Image, and Platform Conventions
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.69760/gsrh.0260304027Keywords:
multimodality, Instagram, social semiotics, digital discourse, visual communication, emoji, hashtagsAbstract
Instagram posts communicate through coordinated verbal, visual, and platform-specific resources. This conceptual article examines how captions, photographs, typography, colour, emojis, and hashtags contribute to meaning in English-language posts. Drawing on social semiotics, multimodal discourse analysis, and digital communication research, it proposes a practical framework for interpreting the relationship between caption and image, the organization of visual attention, the pragmatic work of concise language, and the role of platform conventions. The article treats these features as context-sensitive resources rather than fixed codes: the meaning of an emoji, colour, or hashtag depends on its placement, surrounding text, image, audience, and genre. It also distinguishes textual interpretation from claims about audience response, which require reception data. The framework is intended for close analysis and future corpus-based research; it does not report a newly collected Instagram dataset or statistical findings. By integrating linguistic and visual analysis, the article offers a way to describe how posts construct stance, identity, and audience alignment while remaining attentive to the limits of interpretation.
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